NRL 2022: Origin star Ben Hunt’s best game for Queensland

There is plenty of egg on some people’s faces after Ben Hunt put in a performance that his long-time coach said was his best in the rep arena.

Ben Hunt is the most important player for the Dragons. Picture; Mark Nolan/Getty Images

Dragons coach Anthony Griffin has hailed halfback Ben Hunt’s performance in the State of Origin decider as the best performance of his career and confirmed that the St George Illawarra skipper would back up against the Roosters on Saturday.

Hunt was incredible on Wednesday night, getting through 36 tackles in the middle and then coming up with the defining moment of the series when he intercepted a Nathan Cleary kick and raced away to seal the shock win for the Maroons.

“It’s probably his best performance on that stage,” Griffin said.

“He played hooker, lock and centre during the night. They were down to 15, so they needed little men to play big minutes and do a lot of the heavy work.

“To be able to do that and then come up with the really big plays under pressure, I was really happy for him because he’s getting better as he gets older and people are starting to realise just how great a player he is.

Bent Hunt celebrates the winning try on Wednesday. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

“He’s been one of Queensland’s best for a few years now.

“As he’s got older – as the good ones do – he’s got a real understanding of the game and the big moments of the game as you saw the other night with the 40/20 and the intercept off the kick at the end.

“That’s not easy to do under that pressure, but he’s at that period of his career now where he can pull of those big plays.”

Anyone who questioned why Hunt was leading the Dally M count when voting went behind closed doors has probably gone a bit quiet after Wednesday’s performance, while the Dragons showed last week against the Broncos just how much they missed his leadership and influence in attack.

It’s why Hunt stopped partying and rocked up to Friday for the captain’s run to make sure he’s there to help the Red V in their crunch game against the Roosters on the Central Coast.

“It just shows you his character,” Griffin said.

“I spoke to him yesterday and asked whether he wanted to play, and he did. I was going to check on him again this morning, but he showed up ready to go in his training gear and walked straight in and had his head ready to go for this game tomorrow.

“It shows the toughness and the teammate he is.”

Griffin also confirmed that Mikaele Ravalawa would miss 7-8 weeks with a hamstring injury that he suffered in last week’s disappointing loss to the Broncos.

In that game, the Dragons capitulated in attack, with some questionable last-tackle options from their young halves.

The Dragons must bounce back after a poor performance last week. Picture; Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

The Dragons coach said it wasn’t fair to pin the loss on Hunt not being there and said his side must improve significantly if they wanted to play finals.

They get the perfect test against a Roosters side that is just two points behind them on the ladder and smarting after they were beaten on Anzac Day thanks to some huge plays by who else but Hunt.

“Our whole performance last week was nowhere near the standard that we aspire to get to every week,” Griffin said.

“Origin is over now and the competition goes to another level. Everyone has got one thing in their sights and that’s September. Whether it’s the Roosters or someone else, we need to play well.”

Originally published as NRL 2022: Origin star Ben Hunt’s best game for Queensland